PATIENCE ERHIAWARIEN

We saw genuine needs on the ground

I have been involved with Adonai Partners from its inception. Although I don’t always go on every trip, I participate in other ways. As you know, the trip doesn’t start on the day team members board the plane and fly out to Africa; it starts many months prior with series of meetings, recruiting, training, and most important of all praying. The reports that we hear from the field are the results of much work behind the scene. One of the things that influenced my decision to go this year was the desire to go back to northern Togo and visit those whom we met in previous years. These are pastors, missionaries and new believers whom the Lord has been adding to the Church during our visits. Also, I learnt a lot in previous trips so I went with the anticipation of being blessed. Of course, I went to serve! I thank God for everyone who supported me. Many of you gave out of much sacrifice. Thank you.

During the trip, I participated in the Prayer Walk in Kpandjata, a village where we had the medical and evangelistic outreach. When we got to the venue, we declared it a holy ground singing “we are standing on holy ground…” and acknowledging the presence of God in our midst. At the end of our Prayer Walk, we met with the chief of the village. He informed us of the problem he was having with his eyes. We prayed with him and invited him to the crusade. He came the following day to the outreach and sat through as we showed a video of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God’s presence was evident as many people, including the chief, came forward to receive God’s gift for salvation. The chief testified that after we prayed for him, he is able to see better now.

One of the Tamberma women we served in northern Togo

The Tamberma people have been animists for generations. They are not only idol worshipers they are also uneducated and this is a major challenge the people face. Underage marriages are common. A tradition where young girls are having babies without any means of caring for the children they are bringing into world keep the people in an unending cycle of poverty. Presenting the message of Christ and providing opportunities for education are essential to bringing transformation to the communities. We saw a vast difference between those who are believers and those who have not received Christ.

This trip impacted me in several ways. In every place we went, we saw genuine needs, we saw missionaries living in much hardship. We held a meeting with missionaries working in Tamberma to encourage them. As they shared their experiences, the story of Joshua was particularly touching as he told us how much he had suffered working among the Tamberma people. He told us of the physical pain he often endured and that many times he and his family have gone without food. I felt like I was listening to the Apostle Paul as I managed to fight back tears, reminding myself that it is through much tribulation that we shall enter into the kingdom.

In Kpandjata, a pastor told us that he has been working there for about five years with his wife and five children without any means of support. He told us that his wife has threatened to leave him because she is “tired of suffering.” Our team gave a pair of clothes to this pastor’s wife. She wore it on Sunday and came with her husband to meet us that evening. When I saw how she thanked us so profusely for the clothes, I was very sober as I pondered her gratitude for a piece of used dress.

When one of our two vans broke down, I had to travel from our base in Nadoba on a motorcycle for the medical outreach in Chichira. As we navigated our way through the rough dirt road, I pondered how our host missionary, Chantal Mensah, discovered these villages. On our way back to the base, I asked her and she said that Chichira was actually the first village where she started her missionary work many years ago and yet there is still much spiritual darkness hovering over the people. As I thought about this, I prayed for the land and pleaded with God that Holy Spirit should bring an abundant harvest in Chichira. Praise the Lord that a church has now started there. Please pray for spiritual growth for the new believers. Pray for the supply of resources to do the work in northern Togo and Benin Republic. There is urgent need for moral and financial support for the workers there so they are not forced out because of hardship.

Some of the women at the conference in northern Togo

This mission trip changed my life. It gave me a fresh perspective of what missionaries face in rural areas. It reminded me of the great commission and how some have given up everything to answer the call without questioning how they will survive. “How can they hear except someone goes to preach the good news to them?” There is so much to done in the mission field but very few are bearing the burden of the work. There something for everyone to do. Everyone who had participated in these trips has a story to tell not only about what the Lord did through them but also how it changed their lives. So I encourage you to consider joining us next year to Togo, Uganda, Sudan or the Kanuri in northern Nigeria. If you cannot go, you can encourage those who serve there. Your life will never be the same!